Spar for sailing graft and method of manufacturing same



C. F. WYATT Dec. 31, 1968' Filed May 1, 1967 United States Patent 3,418,958 SPAR FOR SAILING CRAFT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME Charles F. Wyatt, 70 Wheaton St., South Plympton, South Australia, Australia Filed May 1, 1967, Ser. No. 635,122

6 Claims. (Cl. 114-89) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A spar for sailing vessels having an independent sail track secured to prestress the mast for greater strength.

This invention relates to an improved spar for sailing craft and to the method of manufacturing same.

Sailing craft spars have heretofore been formed either of wood or of metal, and in the case of masts and sometimes booms have been fabricated to include a sail track in which the main sail operated under action of the rope attached to a sail, the rope being guided in the track and of course passing over the usual pulleys or guides to allow the sail to be raised and lowered.

In the case of timber masts it has been customary to form the mast from two sections longitudinally joined together and shaped to produce the sail track within the mast itself, whereas in the case of metal masts these have been drawn or otherwise produced with an integral sail track formed in them during manufacture.

A highly satisfactory yet simple mast is one in which a tube such as stainless steel forms the body of the mast, which tube can be tapered towards the top or can have a tapered section joined thereto, and generally this construction is also applicable to booms, and it is the object of this invention to produce a spar of this type including a sail, which spar will be of good appearance, adequate strength, and will ensure effective operation of the sail in the track. The invention also relates to an improved cross-tree.

The spar according to this invention comprises a tubular member of the required configuration to which is joined a separate sail track preferably formed of the same material as the spar which is so shaped and joined that it adds materially to the strength of the spar while at the same time providing a highly eifective sail track.

The spar according to this invention thus comprises an elongated tubular metal member, and securely attached thereto along its length a sail track formed as a separate member and disposed longitudinally on the tubular member to project outwardly from the tubular member, whereby the strength of the spar is increased due to the extra dimension of the track.

The strength is further increased if, prior to welding of the track to the tubular member, the tubular member is bent to a curved form and during and because of welding of the track to the tubular member the spar so formed is caused to return to a relatively straight position, but its strength is then increased mainly due to the added track but partly due also to the stresses introduced during welding.

The method of forming the spar consists in the application of a bending force to such metal member within the resiliency of the metal member to curve the member along its length and while bent welding thereto a metal sail track and during welding allowing the tubular metal member to return to a substantially straight condition.

To enable the invention to be fully understood an embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which are exemplary only, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims herein.

Patented Dec. 31, 1968 In the drawings;

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a mast according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged transverse section of same,

FIG. 3 is a view of a sail track with said edge in place, and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mast including the improved cross-tree.

The spar and track can be varied in their configuration according to the type of craft and according to the materials which are to be used, but in the illustrations the mast 1 and sail track 2 are formed of a material such as stainless steel, in which case a standard stainless steel mast 1 may be used which is of tubular section of a relatively light gauge but suflicient to take the strain imposed on such a mast, and to this mast is attached a sail track 2 which extends longitudinally along the mast and is secured thereto by welding at the edges 4 to form a projection on one side of the mast, the sail track being of somewhat U-shaped form with the bend or joining member 5 of the U lying along the mast to provide the weld point and the two sides 6 of the U-shaped member extending overwardly from the mast and having their ends 7 turned inwardly sufficient to form the gap in which the sail operates but behind which the rope which carries the sail is confined in the track so that it cannot leave the track.

The sail track can be formed in any convenient way and preferably has its central section 5, that is the section of the U which joins the two side lengths 6 of the U, curved inwardly to fit the mast and also to provide a ridge for the purpose of stiffening the centre of the track, the corners of the sail track being welded to the mast at intervals to form an integral unit therewith.

The two side members of the sail track extend outwardly in substantially parallel formation but at a point suflicient to allow adequate accommodation of the rope of the sail the two ends of this track converge inwardly to provide a narrower slot through which the sail operates, the extreme ends of the track being bent outwardly to reinforce the edges of this track and to provide a pair of rounded sections which will ensure that no damage can result to the sail irrespective of the position in which it is accommodated during actual sailing conditions.

The method of forming this mast consists in first joining the necessary tubular sections to produce the mast, including the taper at the upper end of the mast, after which the mast is bent within the resiliency of the metal to give it a substantial curve in a direction such that the two ends of the mast are moved back from the final position which the sail track is to occupy, after which the sail track, which does not have a very high degree of rigidity when not attached to the mast, is laid along the mast and by welding the sail track to the mast at regular intervals on each side of the sail track, it will be found that the mast will distort to bring the mast and sail track into a straight condition which it will then maintain. This results in what can be called a prestressed mast.

The same construction can be used for a boom.

The improved cross-tree comprises a support member 10 adapted to be held to the mast at the required height by screwing or welding or other means, but the guy wires 11 which hold the mast in place on the hull are engaged by an improved form of spreader so arranged that the angle of the spreader in relation to the mast can be varied.

In its illustrated form the spreader comprises a telescopic member 12-13 having its end 12 hinged to the support member 10 and its other end 13 provided with a cap 14 to engage the stay or guy wire 11, the amount of telescoping being controlled by a pin 15 which allows the hinge of the spreader to be varied as required and which is locked at a selected pin hole 16.

The spreader is hinged at its inner end to the support member by a pin 17 so that it may be swung about the hinge pin 17, and to control its position a stay 18 has its one end hinged by a pin 19 to the support member 10 remotely of the hinge pin 17 of the spreader and its other end hinged by a pin 20 to a ferrule 21 which is adjustable on the spreader by positioning a pin 22 in any one of a series of holes 23 so that as the spreader is moved about its thinge pin 17, the stay 18 causes the ferrule 21 to move along the spreader 12 and by then locking the ferrule 21 to the spreader in a selected position, location of the spreader can be maintained.

In this way a pair of spreaders can project out from the mast in a plane at right angles to the mast and can be swung around in this plane to turn or load the mast as required and of course as the spreaders are telescopic further adjustment is possible.

This feature with the sail track on the mast has been found to be highly effective but can also be used independently of the particular mast as it is advantageous on even the normal types of mast used at the present time.

From the foregoing it will be realised that a simple and effective spar results in which the sail track is attached to as to become an integral part, thus allowing a normal type of mast or boom to be used by attachment of the sail track with a result that the mast itself is reinforced by the presence of the track and also the track 'has the required shape and rigidity because this can be separately formed and then joined to the mast to give the required final configuration. Further the cross-tree ensures selective positioning and loading of the mast.

What I claim is:

1. A spar for sailing vessels including a spreader hinged at its inner end to a support member on the spar and a stay also hinged to the support member remote from the hinging of the spreader but adjustably engaging the spreader to 'form a triangulated structure which allows the radial direction at which the spreader extends from the spar to be changed.

2. A method of forming a spar for sailing vessels comprising the application of a bending force, within the resiliency limits of a metal member, to such metal member to curve the member along its length and while so curved welding thereto a metal sail track and during welding allowingthe tubular metal member to assume a substantially straight condition.

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the spar is a metal mast.

4. A spar for sailing vessels comprising an elongated tubular metal member, a sail track formed as a support member and disposed longitudinally on the tubular member to project outwardly from the tubular member, said track being U-shaped and the bend thereof being curved to cause the edges thereof to contact the tubular member, and welding positioned at the edges of the bend on each side of the track and it intervals along the tubular member while the tubular member is stressed into a curved form to cause the welding and track to exert a straightening force, whereby the strength of the spar is increased due to the extra dimension of the track.

5. A spar for sailing vessels comprising an elongated tubular metal member, a tail track formed as a supporting member and disposed longitudinally on the tubular member to project outwardly from the tubular member and being securely attached to the tubular member along its length, a support member secured to said tubular member, a spreader hinged at its inner end to said support member, a stay also hinged to the support member remote from the hinging of the spreader, a sleeve slidable on the support member and hingedly connected to the free end of the stay to form a triangulated structure with the spreader, and means to lock the sleeve to the spreader to allow the radial angle of the spreader in relation to the tubular member to be varied.

6. A spreader according to claim 5 wherein the spreader is telescopic.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 20,673 6/1858 Webster 1l490 2,711,149 6/1955 Jetter 114-112 FOREIGN PATENTS 978,910 1/1965 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Primary Examiner.

TRYGVE M. BLIX, Assistant Examiner. 

